A Girl's Nightmare or Dream?
by S. Shea
Summary: Bella Swan is a college sophomore who loves to daydream. She lives in her own world and doesn't care much for reality. When the new school year begins, she meets a certain green eyed man who turns out to be one of her neighbors. He's everything she hates and wants, but she doesn't know it. Will he bring her out of her world and into reality? Will she open her heart and mind to him?
1. Ch 1 Neighbors

**A/N: Hey everyone! So I've had this story in my head and I decided to just start writing it and see where it goes. I'm sorry about taking down my other story but when I went back to read and edit it, I literally cringed at my writing. So I decided to start anew.**

**Disclaimer: Stephanie Meyer owns _Twilight_. I just borrow her characters.**

**Review Please!**

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_January 6, 2013_

_My most peaceful moment is when I sit quietly in my room, either during the day or night. I listen to music from my headphones or read. It's my sanctuary. Everything is still around me. No fights, arguments, annoyance, or insults. It's just me, my mind, and my peace. I'm free to daydream about anything I want. I can do so serenely without giving my attention to something else. It's a wonderful break from reality. _

_ Not many seem to understand my need for it. I'm not depressed, though there are some vulnerable moments where I feel miserable. I'm not anti-social…maybe a little socially awkward. But that's fine because that's just me. I'm human who feels emotions. It's not wrong and it's enough for me. But, lately, it seems like it's never enough for anyone else. I don't understand why. _

_ I think many or at least some wonder why I have this concrete wall up, hiding my mind and heart from everyone else. I don't know myself. Nothing ever remotely traumatizing or life changing has ever happened to me. Yet one of my biggest fears is for someone to call me out, to speak out loud what my thoughts are, or what my heart says. I fear letting my walls down, to open up myself to someone. _

_ Yet, it's also one thing that I crave. I want to open up to someone. Long nights are filled with dreams of being happy in the warm arms of someone special. My face glowing with happiness that I've never seen there, a blurry face that holds me and keeps me warm, someone who lets me be free to be who I am and protects me without a single thought. I dream of falling in love so deep that it would never break. I dream of falling in love that I don't even realize it until it hits me out of nowhere. _

_But love seems so sacred to me. Even if it was ever meant to happen…the loss of love is something that I want to experience. It's something that I don't want to chase either. I want to fall so easily that it's like a breath of fresh air. Air that won't cause me to cough or gag. It just fills me with this light new feeling that causes a small flame in my heart and warms my entire body. I see it all around me. Friends who talk constantly about how they were with this guy but they hooked up with another. Friends who enter new relationships just to say that they're with someone. I have never been one to do that nor will I ever. I feel like the right person will come at the right time. I don't need to chase. It'll happen if it's meant to happen._

_Then reality hits in. That special someone only exists in my dreams, not in the real world. In reality, I'm too scared to go through something as strong and life changing as falling in love. Call me a coward, but I don't think it's possible for someone with my mind and my fears. It hurts the most when the realization sets in. I feel even more alone. At the same time, it seems ridiculous though. Why should I feel so alone? I have my family around. Friends who I love to hang out with. I am happy with everything around me. Why should I want more? Is it bad to want more?_

_It's not that I'm not content with my life. I just wish there was more to it…but then again, doesn't everyone?_

* * *

The sound of a car door slamming shut reached her ears just as she closed the word document. She had written it the year before, when she had graduated high school. Now as a new sophomore in college, she noticed that nothing seemed different. She still felt the same as she did before. She still loved the quiet sanctuary of her room, whether it was in her parents' house or at the apartment that she was going to share with her best friend and their old roommates. She still daydreamed.

But she learned that hoping for something that may never happen was pointless. It would happen at the right time she reasoned. She taught herself to be happy with what she had and went on with life even though it was difficult. It was still hard not to hope for more, but she kept that to herself, just like she did everything else.

"BELLA!"

The loud yell and the stomping feet running up the stairs put her into action. She shut off her laptop and packed it away into her back pack. She threw on her jacket, and put last minute stuff away. Just as she zipped up her last bag, the door slammed open. It banged hard against the wall and she cringed at the mark that was going to be left in the wall.

"Ready woman?!" the excited voice asked. Her best friend never had the patience to wait, but Bella never said anything. After all, it was what pushed her to keep going and get excited about life the way it was. Rose was always happy about life and she never questioned everything the way Bella did.

Rosalie Hale was a tall girl, with strawberry-blonde hair, pale skin, and violet eyes. She had a beauty that people noticed right away and a happy, slightly bitchy, and funny personality that everyone fell in love with.

Bella Swan was shorter, with dark brown hair that looked nearly black. She had pale skin, and deep brown eyes that a poet or writer would say hid many secrets. She was a natural beauty that seemed to be hidden behind her best friend's. Her quiet nature didn't show much off either. But Bella was happy like that. She didn't like to deal with many people at once, especially guys.

It wasn't like she wasn't noticed. She turned a few heads when she walked anywhere. Everyone saw it, but her. She lived too much in her own head to notice. She was once told that she was so oblivious to everything around her that she should get an award for Most Clueless. But Bella laughed the comment off. She didn't care; or rather it wasn't something that really bothered her. She liked living in her own head.

"Yeah, just let me bring my stuff down." Bella replied calmly with a smile of her face.

"Hurry up! I can't wait to get back. I'm so done with summer vacation and sick of my own house! I just want to be back at school and free!" Rose exclaimed. She grabbed Bella's backpack and one of her duffel bags. Bella grabbed her other two bags and walked out the door with Rose right at her heels.

The goodbyes with the family had happened the night before. Now they were all out and about, minding their own businesses. Her father, Charlie, was at work, as usual. He was the Chief of Police so he had his hands full all the time. Her mom, Renee, was out grocery shopping and visiting her siblings. She did what she could to occupy her time since all of her kids were at the age where they could take care of themselves.

Her elder sister, Tanya, was at her new job in some biotech research company. The name always escaped Bella's mind. Tanya took it on for her parents though what she really wanted was to get married to her long-time boyfriend. She didn't' care much for anything else, including saving the money she earned. She lived very much in her own world, but unlike Bella, she brought her world into reality. Now it seemed like everything revolved around her; or that's really just the way Bella sees it. But she was a caring and good sister to Bella. She knew that. And that's what mattered. And finally her younger brother, Seth, was in school. At 16, he was a sophomore and absolutely loved high school. Bella had no idea why. She had hated it.

Bella and Rose loaded the car as fast as possible, both itching to get on the road. Once they were done, Rose hopped into the driver's seat while Bella locked the house. Soon they were driving away. Rose had some new rap song playing loudly. Bella winced at the noise. She decided to endure it because listening to the music on her iPhone would seem rude, no matter how much she wanted to.

* * *

The drive to UDub was about an hour and a half from their hometown of Forks. It was a seemingly medium sized town, small enough for that small town feeling, yet big enough that they didn't know every family in town. It was pretty boring to live in the town as teenagers, so their high school years were the worst. There was literally nothing to do. Bella and Rose did enjoy spending time at the local bookstore and café, but when it went bankrupt, they gave up. As soon as they could drive, they took trips to Seattle, Port Angeles for the massive mall, and anywhere else they could to get away from the lackluster town.

UDub was their biggest escape. It was known for its large party scene back in the day. The scene was still there but the academics at the school were impressive as well. Both girls loved the school and its school spirit. The campus was so massive; it was like its own city filled only with college students and professors. The small town surrounding it was filled with college kids walking between stores and cafés. The entire atmosphere was exciting and screamed freedom to the girls.

As soon as they drove through the small town towards campus, they could feel their excitement grow. The familiar smell of food, perfumes, coffee and the distinct smell of hookah and weed filled their senses. They laughed and yelled "HI"s and "HEY"s back at anyone familiar. Bella couldn't keep the smile off of her face. It felt so good to be back.

The apartment building they lived in was one of four, known as the North Apartments. They were mainly for juniors and seniors, but the girls loved their privacy and quiet, especially Bella. Compared to their loud and party known dorms they lived in their freshman year, this was the complete opposite. Each apartment had four bedrooms, two bathrooms, a kitchen and a small living room. The bathrooms were the girls' favorite feature. It was a major upgrade to sharing one bathroom with nearly twenty other girls. The amount of times they were disgusted were countless.

They shared their apartment with two other girls, Alice and Angela. They each were Rose's and Bella's freshman roommates, respectively. This was the first year that Rose and Bella were going to live together. They had chosen not to the previous year because they both wanted to meet people on their own. They even chose different buildings to live in but by the end of the year their closest friends from both groups merged. Now they hung out all the time.

Rose parked in front of the North Apartment D. They each grabbed their backpacks and went to the front office to check in. They were on the third floor in apartment 308. Rose remembered to grab one of those hideous big yellow carts to push their luggage in. They unloaded the car quickly and Rose pulled the car away from the curb to park it in the parking lot adjacent to their building.

Bella decided to just get a head start and pushed the yellow cart inside the building. She realized that she couldn't see over the cart because of her 5 feet and 5 inches height and thought that it was fortunate that they were early enough so that there wasn't a rush. She pushed the cart with all her strength towards the elevators. She scanned her card and once the small red light turned green, she pressed the UP button. The elevator dinged and she pulled the cart inside after her. She pressed the 3rd floor button and waited for the doors to shut.

"HOLD IT!"

Bella quickly pressed the button to keep the doors open. She heard quick "thanks". She couldn't see who got in over the cart. As the person squeezed in, she felt the cart push towards her and it pinned her against the wall.

"Oof" she muttered quietly.

"Sorry! Are you okay?" a man's deep voice asked. Bella had a fleeting thought about how soothing and velvety the voice sounded; before it occurred to her that she needed to reply.

"Oh! Um. Yeah I'm fine." She said quietly. The elevator doors finally closed and she wondered what floor he wanted to get off at.

"Uh...what floor did you want?" she asked.

"Oh! Right, forgot about that," the stranger chuckled in his velvety voice, "3rd floor please."

Bella masked her surprise.

"Already pressed."

The stranger with the nice voice was on the same floor. She wondered how he looked. She briefly hoped he looked as good as his voice sounded.

"Really? Nice to meet one of my floor mates already. I'm Edward Cullen."

Bella raised a perfectly arched dark eyebrow, even though he couldn't see it. It was a habit of hers, besides chewing on her lips.

"Bella Swan."

"That's a beautiful name, Bella. I'm sure you're as beautiful as your name."

Her second eyebrow shot up. This guy was laying it on thick.

"Hmm I bet you say that to any girl," she concluded.

"Nah. Only the pretty ones," he disagreed.

"How would you know I'm pretty?"

"By your voice." She could hear his smile and humor in his voice.

"That isn't a good reason."

"It is for me."

Bella had no idea why she was suddenly bickering, and dare she think, flirting with this stranger. Sure he had a nice voice, but she had never done this before. She never cared too.

Edward seemed to realize that she wouldn't reply.

"What year are you, Bella?" he asked. He wanted to keep her talking.

"Sophomore" she replied in a clipped tone, confused by her thoughts.

"Cool! So am I. I didn't think a lot of sophomores would live in these apartments. Which one do you live in?" He ignored her tone.

"Um…308, I think," she replied uncertainly. Edward had her all confused and she had only heard his voice.

"No way… ha I'm in 309. Guess we're neighbors, neighbor." He sounded pleased with this news. Bella had no idea what to think about it.

"Oh that's cool."

Finally the elevator dinged and the doors opened. She heard Edward get off and felt the cart being pulled away from her.

"Here let me help you get out," he offered.

"Uh thanks" she replied quietly.

He pulled it out of the elevator and waited for Bella to get out as well. She turned around to see what direction their apartments were from the sign and felt someone creep up behind her. She turned out of curiosity and found that she was looking at a chest.

A very nice chest that had broad shoulders and a narrow waist; she began to raise her eyes slowly. They made a trail up his neck and strong jawline. He had a bit of dark stubble that suited him just fine. Her eyes rose a bit higher and found pale pink lips that looked like what she probably read in a book somewhere. They were set in a cocky smirk and she faintly wondered why. She skipped up to the top of his head and her fingers suddenly twitched. His hair was chaotic mess of bronze and long enough to flip with a jerk of his head. It came just passed his ears and she had the strong urge to run her fingers through his hair to see if it was as soft as it looked. She dropped her gaze and noticed that he had a slightly crooked nose.

Finally, her deep brown eyes settled on his amused green ones. They had a twinkle of mischief in them and she realized why he was smirking at her. This Edward Cullen had just caught her ogling him blatantly and never had she felt so embarrassed. She blushed at where her thoughts were and cursed her pale skin. She knew that she probably looked like a bright tomato.

"Hmm my guess was right, you are beautiful," Edward murmured quietly. His green eyes seemed to look all over her face, memorizing every detail. His deep velvety voice matched his looks and that thought woke Bella up from her daze.

"Right…" she muttered sarcastically looking for an escape, "our apartments are on the right, so yeah..."

Bella moved around his tall and impressive body to get to the cart. All she wanted to do was go hide away in her apartment. This was the first time she found someone attractive and suddenly it put her on edge. Her wall was trying build up fast but, the damage was done. Edward saw her embarrassment, a moment of weakness for her.

It hit her suddenly that she was in some deep trouble this year.

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**Review Please!**


	2. Ch 2 Oh Boy

Edward followed her in the direction of their apartments. Bella didn't turn back to look at him. She didn't say anything and he didn't either. But she did feel his eyes trained on her. It was a warm tingling sensation that spread from her head to her toes and it scared the shit out of her.

Never had Bella felt so attuned to a guy like this before. It could be that she never paid attention or cared before, but right now her entire attention seemed to be focused on him and that kind of irritated her.

The apartments were numbered with the odd numbers on the right side and the even numbers on the left. As Bella stopped in front of the door of apartment 308, Edward stopped on the opposite side, at his door. _Great. He lives right there. The fucking doors are perfectly aligned_, she thought.

"Do you need help getting this inside?" Edward asked, pointing at the hideous yellow cart. He wore a lopsided grin on his face, but Bella could see in his eyes that he was sincere and willing to help.

It flustered her even more.

"Uh. No, I got it. Thanks though," she replied, warily.

Edward shrugged.

"Alright. Well, I'm gonna head in to put these bags down." It was the first time she noticed that he had two heavy-looking duffel bags on both his shoulders. "I'll see you around, Bella," he smirked, seemingly confident that he _will_ see her around. The way he said her name dazed her, and that irked her.

"Uh sure. Bye." Bella scanned her ID quickly and opened the door. She pulled the cart in as fast as she could and shut the door. She heard his low, deep chuckle and resisted the strongest urge to look at him through the peephole in the door.

Bella waited there until she heard his door shut. Once she heard the faint click, she let out a deep breath. She didn't realize that she had stopped breathing.

She found it ridiculous of how she reacted towards Edward. It was so out of character and she felt irritated with herself.

_I won't react like that again, ESPECIALLY, towards him, _she decided.

She emptied the yellow cart and lined up all the bags in the hall that led to their bedrooms. She glanced out the peephole, making sure he wasn't in the hall or leaving anytime soon. Once she was sure, she whipped the door opened and pushed the empty cart into the hall. She left it by the wall, thinking that one of the RAs would take it back downstairs.

* * *

A few weeks earlier, the girls had decided what room they wanted to take. Bella called the last room in the hall, immediately. She knew that the room would be slightly bigger, and the bathroom near her room was much bigger too.

They came up earlier and moved everything but their clothes in. The girls had decided that just bringing their clothes on the day they would actually move in would be so much easier. Plus, all they would have to do was unpack since everything was already set.

Bella went right to work. She picked up her bags and moved towards her room to unpack. She had many posters on her walls. Or rather, they were quotes that meant something to her. She started with 10 quotes on her walls in the beginning of freshman year. Now there were nearly a hundred. She designed them to fit in one thick band on her wall.

Her bed was low, about a foot from the floor and she had asked her bed to be bunked. It sat against the wall, with the headboard right next to the window. The result was a dim lit, comfortable cave for her to read and dream in. She had twinkling lights above her dark cave.

Her comforter was made for a kind sized bed so on the small twin bed, it was folded to fit. But she didn't mind. The extra padding to the awful, university issued mattress was worth it. Her room was decorated to suit her. She loved to see the words and pictures when she woke up.

As she unpacked, she heard the front door open. She heard her apartment-mates voices and smiled. It was a while since she saw them. She dropped the clothes in her hands on the bed and walked out of the door. She padded quietly towards the living room and suddenly all she could hear were squeals of excitement and laughs.

A blur of pale skin and black hair tackled Bella, and she found her ass on the floor. She ignored the dull pain and hugged Alice back with the same strength Alice was using. Angela was less enthusiastic; then again no one was as excited as Alice.

Alice Brandon was Rose's roommate the year before but she and Bella had quickly become friends. She was short and pixie like, but the girl had a bright and perky personality. She could bring any man to his knees if she wanted.

Angela and Bella were alike and different in many ways. They liked having a quiet room and time to just lay there and relax. Both were avid readers and studious. Bella liked to sleep in the complete dark and Angela hates it. Bella liked to shower during the evening while Angela was up early to shower. But they were the perfect roommates for each other. Angela had found a soul mate in Ben Cheney that year and even though Bella felt a little sad about how that hadn't happened to her or would in the near future, she was immensely happy for her roommate.

The four girls became fast friends as soon as they met each other. Each was different in their appearance, their like, their dislikes, their quirks, and their personalities. Regardless, anywhere they went, all eyes were on them. Guys appreciated the sight of four gorgeous women walking together between classes, to eat, and especially at the frat parties.

Girls envied the four for their looks and for the fact that all guys only paid attention to them when they were around on campus. What made it worse was that the four girls were always in their own world. They didn't pay attention to the lust-filled stares or the envy-painted faces. Many knew that the girls were often humble about their looks, or in Bella's case, completely clueless. That just seemed to make the appeal so much better.

* * *

When the front door opened and Rose walked in, she found Bella and Alice still on the floor. She laughed and ran forward to hug Angela, who was watching the girls on the floor in amusement. Alice eventually let Bella off the floor to hug Rose. Bella chuckled and hugged Angela. It felt amazing to be all back together.

"Where's Ben?" Rose asked Angela. Bella and Alice collapsed onto the couch, liking it much better than the floor.

"He's moving in. And guess what! He's living right across us, in 309!" Angela exclaimed. Immediately, Bella's mind flashed those green eyes. Just when she was about to forget the encounter, which was a complete lie, she thought of Edward Cullen living in the same apartment.

"That's great! Is he still living with his old roommate?" Alice asked coyly. The three girls laughed out loud.

"Yeah Alice, Jasper Whitlock, the man of your dreams is living just across the hall." Angela teased.

"Well, I-I...uh," Alice stammered. Bella chuckled. She had never seen Alice so flustered. She got up and padded towards the kitchen for a glass of water. Rose fell into the single armchair with a deep breath. Her stomach hurt from the laughing.

"Who else is he living with?" she asked out of curiosity. Bella tensed without realizing it. She turned her head slightly, to hear the answer.

"He's living with these other two guys from his Bio class. He said they were cool." Angela shrugged.

"What are their names?" Alice asked.

"Uh...one's Emmett McCarty and the other is Edward…Edward... shit I forgot his last name." Angela furrowed her brow trying to remember.

"Cullen, Bella replied involuntarily. Immediately, she cringed.

There was an immediate silence behind Bella. She cursed herself before turning around slowly, preparing for the Spanish Inquisition.

"Yeah…Bella, how did you know?" Angela grinned.

Bella shrugged nonchalantly. "I met him when I was bringing our stuff up. Not a big deal."

Rose narrowed her eyes slightly. Something was different but she couldn't put her finger on it. "Right, since it's not a big deal, let's go meet them."

Bella did her best not to blush or show any reaction. "Shouldn't we wait till we finish unpacking?"

Rose grumbled but agreed. Everyone stood up and walked towards their respective rooms. Bella exhaled shakily. _Crisis averted._

* * *

By sunset, the girls were completely done, exhausted, and famished. They agreed to drive to town. There was a Persian restaurant called Lit that Bella absolutely loved; a couple of small cafés, and a Mexican restaurant called Buenos that made the best Mexican food ever. They agreed that they were in dire need of some Buenos and got ready to go out.

Bella wore her favorite pair of VANs, her dark blue short shorts, and a white V-neck t-shirt that was tied at the bottom. The weather outside was really warm since it was still the end of August and surprisingly, it wasn't raining. Bella took full advantage of the situation. She pulled her small purse over her shoulder and let it hang around her waist. She put her ID, debit card, and some cash into it. She remembered to grab her iPhone and put into her back pocket. She put her Ray Bans on top of her head.

By the time she got out, she realized that her friends were waiting in outside in the hall. She walked out and turned to shut the door behind her. She made sure it was locked; she didn't want any of their stuff to be stolen. Even if the campus was a safe place, it still was a college filled with some delinquents.

She turned back around and her deep brown eyes widened as they met those familiar green ones with the glint in them. She looked around to find three other guys standing with her friends. She looked back up at Edward and watched as a crooked grin grew on his face.

"Hey Bella," Edward smiled wide.

Bella felt the heat in her cheeks and cursed her blushing ways again.

"Hey," she mumbled.

She turned towards Rose who stood close to what Bella was thought was a giant. He wasn't big in an obese way. This guy was all bulky muscle. He was tall, much taller than any of them, tan-ish skinned, and had short brown hair. He looked intimidating and if Bella hadn't seen the happy smile and warm brown eyes, she would have been scared to hell.

"Bella this is Emmett," Rose smiled. Once she caught Bella's eyes, she widened them slightly, indicating that she found Emmett very attractive.

Bella smiled at her friend and said hello to Emmett.

"Great to meet you. I heard you met Eddie here." Emmett smiled wide.

Out of the corner of her eyes, Bella saw Edward grimace at his nickname. She guessed that he didn't like it as much as Emmett did.

Behind Emmett was a tall, lanky man with wavy bling hair and bright blue eyes. He smiled at Bella and introduced himself.

"Jasper Whitlock," he said with a slight southern accent. He winked at Bella and she blushed. She and Jasper had heard of each other but never had met each other before. They never had the same classes and ran in different circles. As she waved shyly, she thought she heard a growl from Edward's chest.

Edward cleared his throat impatiently. "Well since we've all been introduced, let's go."

Bella's eyes widened when she realized that they were all going to eat together. _So much for forgetting about him_, she thought.

They walked towards the elevators and squeezed in. For some reason Bella didn't understand, she found herself standing in right in front of Edward in the corner of the elevator. She held herself stiff; she didn't know what to think of the heat from his chest that she could feel on her back.

Emmett stood shifted, trying to making his large frame more comfortable in the elevator. He unknowingly pushed Bella back; she stumbled slightly, and felt her back pressed against Edward's chest. His hand held her hip to catch her and he left it there. A sudden surge of heat swept through their bodies and immobilized Bella. She stood stiff there, pressed up against him and with his hand on her hip. She felt Edward's hand flex and just as he was about to bend his head to take a deep breath of her intoxicating strawberry smell, the doors opened and everyone shuffled out. The movement seemed to wake up Bella and she scrambled out. Bella let Edward walked slightly ahead; she knew she was blushing madly. She saw Edward curl the hand that was on her hip, curl into a fist and watched him stuff it into his pocket.

The guys led the way towards a large black SUV. Emmett climbed into the driver's seat and Rose sat next to him on the passenger side. Jasper, Ben, and Edward climbed into the last row near the trunk; they were gentlemen, leaving the easier accessed seats for the ladies. Alice, Angela, and Bella hopped into the middle row. The ride itself was quiet, everyone opted to just relax and listen to the soft tunes coming from the radio.

The sun had long set and the only light in the car was the soft glow coming from the lights on the dashboard. The darkness that covered everyone, made Bella hyper-aware of Edward's presence directly behind her. She could feel his eyes on her, and the heat that she felt before intensified. Bella bit her lip, resisting the urge to turn around a bit and steal a peek at him. The heat sent tingles throughout her body and she sat on her hands to keep from fidgeting.  
The ride itself took around five minutes instead of the usual fifteen minutes because of Emmett's speeding. But to Bella, it felt like a lifetime. It took another five minutes to find parking about two blocks away from the small restaurant. Once they all had piled out of the jeep, the heat feeling subsided until they started moving and Edward came to walk by Bella's side. Emmett and Rosalie strolled in front of them, Jasper and Alice followed behind them, and Ben and Angela strolled next to them, hand in hand. The walk was silent except for the sounds of their feet hitting the cement and the occasional whispering from the others to each other.

Bella couldn't resist the urge to look at him anymore so she took a small peek at Edward from the corner of her eye, only to find him doing the same. She quickly looked back down at her feet; she felt the blood pooling in her cheeks. Fortunately, the dim street lights hid her blush. But out of her peripheral vision, Bella could see a slight smile on Edward's lips.

_Oh boy._

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